Vehicle-wheel.



F. A. FROMMANN. v EHlcLE WHEEL. APPLICATION FIQED APR. I6. 1913.

Patented Mar. 12, 19l&

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F. A. FROMMANN.

VEHI'C'LE WHEEL.

APPLlcAnoN man APR. is, 1913.

Patented MM. 12, 1918.

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FRANKLIN A. FROMMANN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VEHICLE-WHEEL.

Application led April 16, 1913.

To all "LU/1,0m t may concer/n.' f

Be it known that l, FRANKLIN A.. FROM- MANN, citizen of the` rlnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful improvements inVehiclelVheels; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to vehicle wheels of the class having a tire memberfloatingly carried by the hub and spoke member of the wheel, and havingcushioning means interposed between the tire membe1 of the wheel andthe. hub and spoke member thereof. In wheel constructions of this class,it has heretofore lbeen difficult to limit the relative circumferentialmovement of the tire member with respect to the hub member and, inpractice, an excess of such relative movement has resulted in uselessfriction and wear upon the cushioning means and the wheel parts inengagement therewith.

One object of my invention is to provide a simple and eective means forrestricting the said relative circumferential motion of the wheel partsand for governing the relative circumferential positions of the tire andhub according to the compression or distension of the cushioning means,z'. e. according to the relative radial position of the tire and hubmem-bers of the wheel. Another object is to provide simple and easilyreplaceable means for reducing` the friction between the adjacent sideflanges of the relatively movable wheel parts. Still another object isto provide means for attaching a. floatingly mounted rim to a standardtype of wheel as heretofore used with a cushioning tire rigidly mountedthereon, such as the type of wheel commonly used upon motorcycles.Further objects will appear from the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1- is a transverse section through a wheel embodying myinvention. v Figs. -2- and 5* are fragmentary sectional views of otherembodiments of my invention.

Figs. 3'- and 1- are fragmentary side elevations of the wheel of Figs.2- and ---f respectively. l

VIn the' drawings, Fig. ll shows a motorl Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

Serial No. 761,455.

cycle wheel of standard construction, having a rim 1 carried by spokes 2mounted upon a hub 3, the said wheel parts being rigidly secured to cachother. Latcrally engaging the rim 1 are annular side flanges e'. havinginwardly directed end portions adapted to hook over the periphery of therim 1 at its lateral edges. Between the side flanges radially inward' ofthc said rim l and adjacent to the respective side flanges are auxiliaryannular flanges 6, these being laterally separated by spacer membersl 7.The latter are preferably tubes slipped over bolts 8, which bolts extendtransversely through the flanges Je and 6, and which bolts hold theflanges l in hooking engagement with the rim 1 of the wheel.

Bearing centripetally against the said rim 1 is an annularcushioningmember 9, preferably of vulcanized rubber', this member beingclampingly mounted between annular tire members l0, which tire membersalso clamp a radially outwardly directed annular tire or tread member1l, the tire members l() being maintained in their said clampingrelation by bolts 12 extending transversely through the sameintermediate of the cushioning member 9 and the tread men'iber 10. Eachof the tire members 10 has at its laterally outer edge an annulaiflang'e13 extending radially inward of the wheel adjacent to one of the sideflanges 41:.

Each of the flanges 4 is provided at in tervals with transverseperforations housing anti-friction blocks 1l of wood, Babbitt metal orother suitable materials. These blocks abut at their inner ends againstthe auxiliary flanges G and at their outer ends against the outer' sideflanges 13, thereby reducing the friction between the relativelyslidable pairs of side flanges 13 and il. Each of the outer sidekflanges 13 also has upon its inner surface a plurality of grooves orrecesses 15, each of which grooves is opposed for portion of its lengthto a portion of a corresponding groove 16 upon the outer surface of therespectively adjacent side flange 4. Each of the grooves thus opposed toeach other is adapted to house a lateral portion of a steel ball orroller 17, the grooves upon each flange being similarly disposed withyreference to the periphery thereof. It will be evident from Figs. 3 and4 that the balls thus housed between the adjacent flanges will controlthe relative circumferential position of the said flanges,

the interposed balls or rollers will control the circumferentialposition of the tire member of thev wheel with respect to the hub memberof the wheel according to the relative radial movement of the saidmembers. By suitably designing the angle between the `opposed grooves,the ball and groove arrangement' can thus be made to limit andcounteract the distortion of the cushioning member due to the tendencyof the hub of the wheel to lag circumferentially behind the tire member,thereby avoiding a slipping of the radially inward portions of thecushioning member upon the V'inner rim l, and also avoiding the frictionand wear heretofore produced by such slipping in wheels of this generalclass.

While I have shown and described the various features of my invention asembodied in wheel parts attachedvto a standard type of wire spoke wheel,it is obvious that these features could also be applied to other designsof wheels and that they could be altered considerably without depart-ingfrom the spirit of my invention. For eX- ample, Figs. 2 and 3 show awheel rim equipped with wooden tread blocks and with a ball and groovearrangement close to its periphery. Figs. 4l and 5 show a rim in whichthe spacer members 2li are united to form annular rings integral withthe inner side flanges 25 and in which the anti-friction members 26extend transversely through' the opposite flanges 25, so that theauxiliary flanges of Fig. l can be omitted. Likewise, Fig. 5 showsv thetubular member comprising the portions 9.4L and 25 as fastened tothe riml by screws 27, so that no transverse bolts, or hook formations upon theinner side flanges, are required.

I claim as my invention:

l. A rim for vehicle wheels having an inner rim rigid with the hubthereof, comprising a pair of side flanges secured to the said innerrim; a second pair of side flanges laterally adjacent respectively tothe aforesaid pair and movable radially and circumferentially of thewheel with respect to the aforesaid pair; lone of said pairs havingVtransverse perfo'rations therein; -a tire and a cushioning` member bothcarried by one of said pairs, the said cushioning` member havingcentripetal engagement with the saidinner rim; an auxiliary flangelaterally adjacent to each of the said perforated flanges; and rigidanti-friction members positioned in the said perforations of theperforated flanges and abutting at one end against the side flangeadjacent thereto, each of the said anti-friction members abutted at itsother end Vvagainst one of the said auxiliary flanges.

2. A rim for a vehicle wheel having an inner rim rigid with the hubthereof, comprising a pair of side flangesclampinglysecuredV to the saidinner rim; a second pair of side flanges adjacent respectively to thefirst named pair of side flanges and movable circumferentially andradially of the wheel with respect to the first named pair of sideflanges; av tire and a cushioning member both carried by the said secondpair of side flanges, the said cushioning member having centripetalengagement with the said inner rim, there being grooves upon the opposedsurfaces of the adjacent side flanges; and

rollers housed in the said grooves, the Vsaid grooves so disposedthatthe rollers will coact with the grooves to control the relativecircumferential position of the tire and the inner rim. Y t

3. Arim for a vehicle Wheel having an inner rim rigid with the hubthereof, com-` prising a pair of side flanges clampingly secured to thesaid inner rim; a second pair of side flanges adjacent respectively tothe first named'pai'r of side flanges; a tire and a cushioning memberboth carried by the said second pair of side flanges, the saidcushioning member having centripetal engagement with the said inner rimand rollers interposed between the adjacent side flanges, there beinggrooves upon the said flanges, each groove adapted to house a lateralhalf of a roller; the grooves housing each 'roller being disposedangularly of each other, whereby the said grooves and the roller housedby the same will coact to alter the relative circumferential position ofthe tire and the inner rim upon a `compressing Vor distending of the-said cushioning vmeinber.

4. A rim for a vehicle Wheel having an inner rim rigid with the hubthereof, comprising a-.pair of sideflanges clampingly secured to thesaid inner rim; a .second Vpair y of side flanges adjacent respectivelyto the first named pair of side flanges; a tire and a cushioningVmember, both carried by the said second pair of side flanges, the saidcushioning member having centripetal Vvengagement with the said innerrim and being adapted to permit vrelative circumferential movement ofthe said tire andinner rim; and rollers interposed betweentherespectively adjacent side flanges, there being grooves upon the saidflanges, each groove adapted to house .a lateral portion of' a roller;the grooves housing each roller beingdisposed angularly of each other,whereby the said grooves and the rollers housed by the same will coactto alter the `relative circun'iferenti al position of the tire and innerrim upon a compressing or distending of the said cushioning member.

5. A rim for a vehicle Wheel having an inner rim rigid With the hubthereof, comprising a pair of side flanges clampingly secured to thesaid inner rim; a second pair of side flanges adjacent respectively tothe first named pair of side flanges; a tire and a cushioning member,beth carried by the said second pair of side flanges, the saidcushioning member having centripctal engagement With the said inner rimand being adapted to permit relative radial and circumferential movementof the said tire and inner rim; and rollers interposed between therespectively adjacent side flanges, there being grooves upon the saidflanges, each groove adapted to house a lateral portion of a, roller;the grooves housing each roller being disposed angularly of each other,whereby the said grooves and the rollers housed by the same will coactto alte-r the relative circumferential position of the tire and innerrim upon relative radial motion of the said tire and inner rim.

6. A rim for vehicle Wheels having an inner rim rigid with the hubthereof, comprismg a pair of side flanges secured to the said inner rim;a second pair of side flanges laterally adjacent respectively to theaforesaid pair and movable radially and circumferentially of the Wheelwith respect to the aforesaid pair; one of said pairs having transverseperforations therein; a tire and a cushioning member both carried by oneof said pairs, the said cushioning member having centripetal engagementwith the said inner rim; an auxiliary fiange laterally adjacent to eachof the said perforated flanges; and rigid anti-friction memberspositioned in the said perforations of the perforated flanges andabutting' at one end against the side flange adjacent thereto, each ofthe said anti-friction members abutted at its other end against one ofthe said auxiliary flanges; and spacer members adapted to maintain theauxiliary flanges in their abutting relation to the said anti-frictionmembers.

ln testimony whereof I have signed my name in presence of `twosubscribing Witnesses.

v FRANKLIN A. FROMMANN. Witnesses ALBERT SCHEIBLE, M. M. BOYLE.

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Washington, D. C.

